Glowworms
by Lliri
Summary: James loves Lily. Lily likes Remus. Remus likes Mary. Mary likes her enemies boyfriend. Sirius... He just wants a motorbike. In a world where words hold power over armies and things can get a little bit crazy, can everyone make it out OK?


Glowworms

Chapter 1: Singing at the Sing Along OR The True Meaning of Happiness

"You build words of sand and stone, I build worlds of words alone." -Unknown.

If you asked Lily Evans to define happiness on her first day of her seventh year at Hogwarts, she would probably say something like this;

"A badge, a compartment of friends, and a year of studying to enjoy. "

James Potter, on the other hand, would probably say something like this.

"Lily Evans."

If you wandered down the train and asked other people, they would all define it differently. Trudie Burton would mention her boyfriend and a good hair day. Just one compartment over, March Camden of the third year would describe the sun on her neck and a clear mind. The Slytherin known as 'Cash' Roswell would tell you about all the different girls he was snogging, with some snide reference to his father's money. But for now, let's turn our focus to Lily Evans.

Lily practically bounced towards the blank wall that hid platform 9 3/4. She was sure she had never been so exited in her life; of course she thought that every year, but this year was going to be extra special. Lily was Head Girl, and she was quite sure Remus Lupin had made Head boy, so really, what more could she ask for? Her parents, who were a bit leery about going through a solid wall, chose to say their goodbyes in the train station.

"Be careful dear." Meredith Evans fussed with her daughter's collar, fixing it for the millionth time since they had left the house. Her father caught her eye and grinned. He was just as used to Meredith's constant mothering as she was. "Oh, I can't believe my little flower is going into her last year!"

"Don't let that Potter boy give you any grief." Griffith Evans told her in his gentle way. He was a balding man of fifty-five, his once-vibrant skin bleached of all colour by long days spent inside, puzzling over transactions.

"Study hard. You're exams are this year and that's important. Mind you're responsibilities and make sure you write to us at least once a week." Meredith pulled her into a warm hug. Lily protested quietly and caught the eye of a pale girl with nutty hair who was passing by. Lily saw the girls lips twitch upwards, and then Lily's father engulfed her in his hug so that all she could see was her mum's fuzzy green sweater and her father's neatly ironed polo.

"We love you, Flower." Meredith told her, finally releasing Lily from the hug.

"Love you too." Lily answered.

"Write to us as soon as you can, OK?"

"But only if you have no homework. Work before play, remember." Griffith reminded her.

"Of course." Lily said, her smile growing. She always put work before play, as he was aware. With her good byes said, Lily went through the seemingly solid wall onto Platform 9 3/4.

The scene was one of pure chaos. Tiny first years were walking into each other as they stared about in awe. A Gryffindor boy two years below her chased after his frog with a war cry, followed by his two best friends bellowing matching cries. The train whistled, parents looked tearful, and Lily narrowly missed tripping over a third year wrestling her cat into a basket.

Lily had only taken three steps forward before she bumped into someone.

"You should watch where you're going." she said, somewhat snappily. All this noise had given her an instant headache. She looked up and saw, moaning inwardly, that she had walked right into James Potter.

"I was, but it looked like you were going to miss me so I had to change course." And he actually had the audacity to _grin!_ He had a great smile, Lily thought happily. Then she snapped herself out of it. She would not fall prey to that grin.

"Good day, Potter." she said as civilly as she could manage. Then she turned on her heel and walked away.

"Lily! Wait, I have something to tell you!"

Lily, of course, ignored him and continued on her chosen course, cool as a cucumber. She heaved her trunk onto the train and made her way down to a compartment. After searching for a few minutes, she entered a compartment with the brunette she had seen on the station. The girl's eyes snapped up towards Lily.

"Hi, I'm Marlene McKinnon. What's your name?" the girl- Marlene asked.

"Lily Evans. I don't think I've seen you before; what year are you in?" Lily asked. She craned her neck to see what book Marlene was reading. The title was 'Advanced Defensive Magic Volume 7.' That was odd. They were only on volume three this year, in her 7th year.

"Year seven," the girl was saying, "I was homeschooled but I need to go to school to take my exams." Lily took a seat.

"So what's with the book? That's advanced magic!" Lily asked.

"I want to be an Auror, so I figured I may as well get a head start." Marlene said. Lily wanted to keep talking, but to her annoyance a certain hazel eyed Marauder ducked into the compartment, followed by Black and Remus, with Pettigrew tailing along behind. Lily had a bit of time for Remus- he had relatives passing away or falling ill pretty much every month, but he was never bitter and was still one of the kindest people Lily knew.

"Hey Remus." she said, sparing him a smile. He looked much paler than normal, with large purple bags under his eyes. She felt a pang of worry, then she turned her gaze on the other newcomers. "Potter, Black, what are you doing here?" she asked. But before they could answer, another newcomer entered the compartment.

"Snivellus." Potter said, making a mock bow. "How kind of you to join us, but..."

"It looks like this compartment is already full." Black finished for him. Remus averted his eyes and struck up a hurried conversation with Marlene while Peter looked on with uncouth excitement.

"Be civilized Potter." She turned to address Snape. "Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it."

"Evans!" Potter whined. "Why are only you allowed to be rude to him?"

"Go away. Just leave." Lily told him.

"Lily darling, this is where we always sit! We can't possibly go!" Sirius cried dramatically.

"Don't make me curse you." Lily growled. Just then, two more people entered the compartment. Mary McDonald and Emmeline Vance, Lily's two best friends. Sirius straightened almost imperceptibly. Emmeline was good looking and a Quiddich player.

"Emmeline! How are you today?" he asked.

"Fine, Black. I notice that your already in your Gryffindor colours. Did your charming mother influence that decision?" she asked, her brown eyes sparkling.

"Anything to make her happy!" The others in the compartment sniggered, except Severus.

"You were leaving, Potter." He said his voice icy cold.

James opened his mouth to send back an angry retort, but Lily had had enough.

"Potter. Out. Now." She raised her wand threateningly.

"What are you thinking, Lily? Miss-Head Girl wouldn't possibly curse a poor, innocent student like myself!"

"It's Evans!"

"You're so pretty when your angry."

"You are an arrogant, conceited, bullying toerag."

"But you still love me." James smiled.

Lily ground her teeth at the sight of his irritating smile. "You have until three. One.."

"Evans!"

"Two..."

"We're going!" Sirius called, pulling a protesting James away from the murderous redhead.

"Three. Tarantallegra." James legs started dancing wildly.

"Finite." Sirius muttered. He cast a resentful glance at Lily, and the four boys left, leaving Severus, Lily, Marlene, Mary, and Lily herself. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry Lily." Severus said.

"Just go." Lily told him. "I'm not above hexing you." He hesitated then turned to go.

"You've changed, Lily. Two years ago, you wouldn't of given Potter three seconds to leave." He said. He shut the door before Lily could hex him.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, yet again.

"Emmy, Mary, meet Marlene. Marlene, meet Emmeline and Mary." Lily said, gesturing at her friends and Marlene in turn. "Marlene decided to come to Hogwarts to do her exams."

"Pleased to meet you." Mary said politely.

"So, what house do you think you'll be in?" Emmeline asked.

"House?" Marlene asked.

"There are four houses at Hogwarts. Slytherin values cunning and blood purity, Gryffindor values bravery and loyalty, Hufflpuff values loyalty and friendship, Ravenclaw values intelligence and a love of learning."

"I'll probably be a Ravenclaw then." Marlene answered. Which effectively killed the conversation. She didn't seem to be the chatty type.

"So. Well, Mary and Emmy and I are all in Gryffindor. So are those four pra-er, irritating people you saw earlier." Lily explained.

"What about the pale male with black hair? The one who kept apologizing to you?"

"He's a Slytherin."

Just then, two more people burst into the compartment and started talking over each other. One of them was tall and blonde, the other was several inches shorter and dark haired.

"Avery." Mary said curtly. "Hi Gerald, what's up?" she asked the blonde, grinning at him and revealing unnaturally straight teeth. Gerald did a double take when he saw Marlene.

"What-How?" Marlene was looking at him with equal surprise.

"You're a wizard?"

"You're a witch?"

They burst out laughing. "Oh, this is brilliant! I've told my friends so much about you. I can't believe you never told me you were a witch!" Gerald said/ Mary eyed them with no little amount of jealousy.

"Well you never told me you were a wizard!" Marlene laughed.

Tired of this, Avery interrupted.

"Have any of you seen Severus?" he asked impatiently.

"He went that way." Emmeline pointed down the hall. In the wrong direction. She smiled as he left. Since they were in the exact middle of the train, he would have to search the entire side before he realized Snape wasn't there.

"So what did you need, Gerald?" Mary asked, giving a winning smile. The contrast between her smile and Marlene's couldn't have been more obvious. Mary had a row of straight white teeth and two matching dimples. Her smiles were radiant and perfect where Marlene's was lopsided and a bit disproportionate.

"I was just looking for Frank and Leo. Do you want to join us, Marlene?" Gerald asked.

"I'm gonna stick around here. Maybe I'll see you at the feast?"

"It's a date, m'lady!" Gerald bent down and kissed Marlene's hand, then exited the compartment.

"Is he always like that?" Lily asked, amused.

"Pretty much." she answered.

Mary sat there, scowling. "Is he like that to every girl?"

"Mary, don't be jealous. You're so much prettier than me, if he has to choose, he'll go for you." Marlene reassured her.

"So you're not dating?"

"We're just friends." she said, while Lily glanced at her watch. Emmeline had been strangely quiet the whole ride, but she spoke up now.

"Lily, don't you need to go and speak to the prefects?" she asked.

"You're right. I'm going now." And then Lily left.

Lily walked down the corridor, mentally preparing her speech to the prefects.

_You've been given a position of great power, but it comes with an equal amount of responsibility. For those of you who are new to this, you don't need to worry. Being a prefect means patrolling the corridors at night, and reporting misbehaviour to the teachers, but that's really it._

Lily would figure out the rest as she went, and of course Remus would say some. Because Lily was absolutely sure now that Remus would be Head Boy. Who else could it be? She turned the corner into the Prefects compartment.

Potter was in there, looking completely at ease. Of course. He always looked at ease. In fact, Lily was pretty sure that the more out of place Potter was the more at ease he looked. Lily walked over to Remus, right past James.

"Hey Remus! So, should we get started? I can tell them about their rights and responsibilities, and you can finish off?"

"Er, the Head Boy is supposed to talk, not me." Lily stared at him, dumbfounded.

"If you're not Head boy, who is?"

Just then, Potter poked his oversized head into the conversation.

"That would be me. Sorry!" he said sheepishly.

No.

This wasn't happening.

It simply didn't make sense.

No, it must be some sort of sick joke.

That was it. That had to be it.

Dumbledore wouldn't have put POTTER as Head Boy.

"Please. That joke is just… distasteful. Give Remus his badge back."

"Lily, he's telling the truth."

"Oh, so you're in on it too?" Lily asked her voice all shrilly.

"Alright Evans. You can insult me if you want, but leave everyone else out of this."

"You're right Potter. This is between you and me now. You're just asking for it. _This is war._"

James was staring at her with a mixture of admiration and bemusement on his handsome face.

"I call a peace treaty, then." He lowered his voice. "If we're going to survive this year, for both of our sakes, Evans, we have to try and get along."

"There are conditions." Lily told him, still not sure that he was telling the truth about his Headboyship.

"Name them."

"No asking me out."

"Done."

"We are acquaintances at best, and maybe not even that."

"Fine."

"You leave me and my friends alone."

"OK."

"This is strictly for business purposes."

"I understand. I get it. Now, let's just talk to the prefects and we don't need to deal with each other until patrol or whatever."

"You can go first." James told her.

Lily stood up and raised her voice. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" the room quieted instantly.

"You've been given a position of great power, but it comes with an equal amount of responsibility. For those of you who are new to this, you don't need to worry. Being a prefect means patrolling the corridors at night, and reporting misbehaviour to the teachers, but that's really it. Potter, would you like to continue?"

"Any misbehaviour can be reported to the teachers, Evans here, or me. You can't take points, but you can give out detention, although it needs to be cleared with a teacher first. Fifth years patrol from 9-10, sixth years from 10-11, and seventh years from eleven to midnight. You always patrol in pairs; a rooster has been worked out for the patrolling schedule."

"I think that's everything. Enjoy yourselves at the feast and have a great year!"

The crowd of people started to file out. Eventually, only Lily and James remained.

"Should we of mentioned the war?" James asked worriedly. His eyebrows and mouth constantly moved, reflecting his emotions. If he wasn't careful, he would be stuck like that, with his mouth and eyebrows constantly moving and he would never be able to stop and-

"Are they calling it a war now?"

"How much of the papers do you read?"

"I stopped getting it in sixth year."

"Things are getting bad. You need to be careful, Lily."

"I don't need you watching over me."

"Promise me you'll be careful."

"Potter."

"_Evans."_

"I always am."

James seemed satisfied, so Lily walked away. It wasn't until quite a while later that she realized that she had gotten through an entire conversation with Potter without yelling.

Back in the compartment, Emmeline was trying to con Marlene to join the Quiddich team. Lily walked in in the middle of their argument. Mary was absentmindedly watching the scenery speed by.

"No! I can't fly!"

"It's easy! Even Lily can fly, right?"

Lily fell gratefully into the conversation. "No way! Remember, I couldn't even get the broom to leave the ground!"

"Oh. Well. That doesn't mean Marlene here shouldn't try flying."

"I don't fly. On broomsticks. Motorbikes, I'll fly on. Thestrals sure, even flying carpets. Not brooms."

"You've flown on a motorbike?"

"My Dad's."

"You're Dad has a flying motorbike?"

"Yes. Next topic, please!" The girls continued to talk and laugh for another hour. Mary rehashed every detail of her summer, while Emmeline spoke quickly and quietly about a Quiddich game she went to. Lily described some of the hideous wedding gowns that her sister tried on, and Marlene listened and told a bit about her summer. Eventually, they got their robes on and disembarked the train. They walked towards the carriages pulled by Thestrals.

"Hey! Marlene- Wait up!" Gerald called, jogging up behind them. He was closely followed by a tall, dark haired boy named Frank Longbottom and a Slytherin boy with amber eyes.

"This is Marlene, my _friend._" He told the other two, emphasizing the word friend. "Marlene, this is Frank and _this _is Leo."

"Nice to meet you, Frank and Leo." Marlene said.

"Nice to meet you too." Marlene stepped up into a carriage after Lily and Mary. Gerald stepped up after her and took a seat.

"This is pretty cramped. Here, I'll make some space." Mary said, going to sit on Gerald's lap. He looked distinctly uncomfortable, but didn't move her off. The boys started talking to Marlene again, and Mary narrowed her eyes.

_Play nice, _mouthed Lily. Then, the Marauders walked up. Remus, Sirius and James all said a quick hello to the Thestrals (_They can see them? Lily wondered.)_ and took a seat in the already cramped carriage.

_Play nice. _She mouthed back. Lily stuck her tongue out at her. Luckily no one else had noticed any of this. Emmeline had taken a seat by Sirius; James was edging over towards Lily, trying to be discreet, and Remus was beside Frank, who was watching Alice walk by. With a sudden jolt, the carriage started moving.

"So how were you're summers?" Gerald asked after a few seconds of quiet. Mary was still on his lap. "Mary. Tell all."

"I went shopping in Paris."

"Frank?"

"I did an internship at the Auror office."

"James?"

"You know. A bit of this, a bit of that."

"Emmeline?"

"I went to the Quiddich world cup."

"Leo?"

"I-"

"Wait," Sirius cut in, "Aren't you a Slytherin? What are you doing here?"

James reached over and hit his best friend.

"You idiot. This is the bloke who got Davey Gudgeon out of the way of the Womping Willow."

"Sorry." Sirius said sheepishly. That seemed to be happening a lot lately. He would say something all wrong. He was going to bruise if he wasn't careful.

"I didn't do much anyway." Leo said coolly.

"Alright. Lily?"

"I watched my sister try on wedding dresses."

"Remus? Peter?"

"I ran errands." Peter said.

"I wrote a book. Then I left it out and a… er, animal tore it up." Sirius, Peter and James all nodded sympathetically. They knew what he really meant.

"What was it on?" Gerald questioned.

"How our magic messes up electricity and science. Did-"

"That sounds like a lovely way to spend your summer." Lily interrupted, stifling a laugh. Only Remus could enjoy doing something like that.

"Moving on! Sirius, what did you do?"

"I got disowned." He said matter-of-factly. Everyone present knew how long he had been hoping for that, so rounds of congratulations were in order.

"And Marlene was camping with me, so I know how she spent her summer!" ("I still haven't gotten the smoky smell out of my jacket," muttered Marlene.) Gerald said happily. A few more minutes of happy chatter passed, and the carriages pulled into Hogwarts.

"Oooh." Marlene breathed. "That's just… Wow."

"Welcome to Hogwarts."

XXX

'Welcome to Hogwarts,' said Professor McGonagall 'The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

'The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

'The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarted yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.' Her eyes lingered for a moment on Marlene's tangled hair and a young blonde's muddy face. The blonde frantically started to scrub. 'I will return when we are ready for you,' said McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

The first years immediately started talking among themselves. A boy with dark brown hair rushed over to the blonde and they started talking animatedly, and a group of three dark haired boys started talking together in rapid sign language. They burst into breathless laughter.

Soon enough, McGonagall came back and gestured them forwards. The room fell silent the second she walked in, save for the laughter of a small group of girls.

"Once I call, your name, you will walk up to the stool and try on the hat. Once it has shouted out your house name, you'll walk towards the appropriate house table." she said brusquely. The first years (And Marlene) followed her out in a mass of nervous black robes.

The sorting passed by in a blur. Marlene watched with mild interest as they went by. "Macmillan, Hannah," was sorted into Hufflpuff as soon as the hat touched her head, and her friend, "Prichard, Nick" was sorted into the same house as her; she observed them embracing. "Mack, Drew, and Tim Sanford," the identical triplets Marlene had observed talking in sign language, were all sorted into Ravenclaw. Just after seeing "Willes, Morgan" being sorted into Slytherin, Marlene was called to the front of the room. She stuffed the hat on her head.

"_A tough one to sort, eh? No problem. Well, you're no Hufflpuff, that's for sure. You could be a Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor..."_

The hat was silent for nearly ten seconds. Marlene started to panic, and then started to focus on controlling her body's reaction to the panic. That always helped her calm down.

"_You don't show quite enough regard for your own safety for Slytherin, I'm afraid. No, that's not quite right. Ravenclaw would be an excellent match, where you would meet other people who enjoy learning. But I see that you begin to doubt how much textbooks can teach you... You crave adventure. Well, in that case, it better be GRYFFINDOR!"_

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted. The table erupted in cheers as Marlene strode over and took a seat between Emmeline and Lily.

This was her idea of happiness.

After "Zabini, Armand" was sorted into Slytherin, Dumbledore started his speech.

"Well! Another year started. I'm sure that you all want to start eating our delicious feast, but first I must trouble you all to listen to an old man blather on for a little while longer." He paused seriously and starred around the room, making sure he had everyone's attention. "First of all, I must remind all the new students- And some of the older ones- That the forbidden forest is completely out of bounds. Under no circumstances should you go in there unless you are accompanied by a qualified member of the staff. Second, Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to tell you that any item from Dervish and Bangs is banned. You can find the list of all banned items outside his office, if you wish to check it out."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" muttered Sirius through the side of his mouth.

"Yes." James muttered back.

"Last, I would like to remind everybody within this castle to hold strong during these dark times. It's more important now than ever to trust one another, yet we also must be constantly wary. If anyone notices someone acting suspicious, I ask you to immediately take it to your head of house. Last but not least, I would like to introduce our new staff member; Mr. T Lupin will be taking over the post of Defence against the dark arts class."

There was a round of applause. Several people cast glances in Remus's direction.

"Is he related to you?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not sure. He might be; I just need to do some research." Sirius snorted and looked away and James did the same a moment later, with a small smile of disbelief. Only Peter didn't look away; he studied his friend's face for a moment. Having gotten all the information he needed, he looked away.

"On that note, let us begin!" Dumbledore clapped his hands twice and dishes of food appeared. There was every dish imaginable; heaping bowls of mashed potatoes, more than twenty types of meat pies, and meats lying in glistening heaps on their respective plates, vegetables in every colour of the rainbow, including a pink and orange fruit with a strange, spiky exterior, (It's called Dragonfruit, said James) and more.

Mary studied her friends as she ate. It was impossible to keep a smile off her face, despite the evil, future-boyfriend stealing girl sitting just two seats down from her. Sirius had piled his plate high with a beef and bread dish and was now eating it with the enthusiasm of a starving person. He kept stuffing too much food into his mouth and nearly choking. She saw James tell a joke while Sirius was mid mouthful and Sirius started turning purple from lack of oxygen. After watching him choke for nearly a minute, Remus pointed his wand at him and Sirius stopped choking.

Next along the line sat Remus. He had piled some meat onto his plate, but couldn't seem to muster any enthusiasm to actually eat it. He cut it up and pushed it around, but none of it went into his mouth. Sirius and Peter took turns waving dishes in front of his face, but he refused them all. After watching that for several painful minutes, Sirius started arguing with Remus and he eventually took a small serving of mashed potatoes. Peter stuck gravy on when he wasn't looking. The group's strong friendship really was sweet. It brought a bigger smile to Mary's face.

Remus was pretty fit, Mary thought idly.

She turned her attention to Peter next. Peter was a notoriously picky eater. He had piled his plate with plain, bland foods like bread, mashed potatoes, and plain meat. He had a routine of checking under the meat for any sauce that might have pooled under there so that he could wipe it off. No matter what anyone else said about Peter, Mary thought that he was a good friend, and wasn't that what really mattered?

Next along the line was James. He was talking with his friends, but kept sneaking glances at Lily. This had not escaped his friends notice, James was forced to put his hand over Sirius's mouth to stop him from calling to Lily. James showed an unusual love of orange vegetables. He had sweet potatoes and carrots scattered throughout his plate. Not a single green vegetable was in sight though. Mary noticed, with a snigger, that Lily's plate was piled high with green vegetables, but she avoided the orange ones like a plague.

Speaking of Lily, she was conversing with Emmeline. They both looked happy and were laughing at something that Emmeline had said. Emmeline had piled her plate high with meat. She was the keeper for the Gryffindor Quiddich team, and had been on a health kick after a summer of relaxation. She needed to get back on her game. Henceforth, she ate lots of meat.

Gerald was talking with Marlene. They both were sucked into conversation and had completely forgotten their meals. That was what had drawn Mary to Gerald in the first place. Most people thought that Mary judged people, and well, boys, on their appearance alone, but that simply wasn't true. Gerald was the one person she knew who could smile through the day, and his smile never faltered. He was always the first one to start dancing at a party, and Mary doubted he even knew what the word dislike meant. He was the happiest, most energetic person Mary had ever met and she could have gone on about him for ages.

Frank kept eyeing Alice a ways down the table and forgetting to eat. Mary tried not to laugh as Frank lifted a sporkful of rice to his mouth, and then missed as he watched Alice. Everyone except Alice knew that Frank was in love with her, but the Gryffindor remained completely oblivious.

You could observe a lot about people based on the way they eat, Mary thought. Their habit's, their friends, their likes, dislikes, and their personality. It really was incredible.

In its due course, dessert appeared. By then, Mary was far to full to eat any more. Well, except a slice or two of apple pie... Some ice cream... and maybe some rhubarb pie while she was at it.

Well, it was a feast. She would worry about her waistline later.

Eventually the food disapeared and the students started heading upstairs. James and Lily started to herd the first years upstairs to the Gryffindor tower, with James running after strays like it was a herd of geese. The others headed upstairs in a crowd of sleepy seventh years.

"I am SO tired!" Sirius yelled energeticly.

"I see that." Remus replied ironically.

"I'm serious! I can't wait to sleep!"

"That's lovely Padfoot."

"Why aren't you exited?" Sirius whined. He turned his attention to Peter.

"Don't you want to sleep, Peter?"

The blonde boy turned around, a mildly surprised look on his face. "Yes." he replied slowly.

"Why aren't you exited? I wish James were here. Now that he's Head boy with the beautiful Evans, I suppose he won't be around that often."

Peter did not know what to say to that, and so remained silent.

Sirius bounced back to Remus. "Come on, Moony! You must be exited!"

"Why do we put up with him?" Remus mouthed at Peter. The latter shrugged.

Not far away, Gerald and Frank were saying good-bye to Leo, a friend of theirs from Slytherin. Gerald started prancing away after saying "Adieu" in a truly awful French accent. Mary stifled a laugh.

Mary was a lot of things. Some people thought that she was overly shy.

She was really just an observer.

Some people thought that she judged people based off their reputations and looks.

But what were they doing, if not that?

Some people saw her as a victim, someone to be pitied. They treated her like a rag doll.

Mary wasn't a rag doll and she didn't want their pity.

She wore glasses, so she must be smart.

She was a blonde, so she must be dumb.

She was thin, so she must be anorexic.

She had a toad, not an owl or a cat, so she must be unpopular.

It was time for bed. Mary would sleep now.

**XXX**

Mary, Marlene, and Lily woke up the next morning to a pillow hitting them on the head. Repeatedly.

"Emmeline." Lily growled. "Don't make me hex you."

"Ah, Lily! It's the first day of the rest of our lives."

"The first day of the rest of our lives can start in five minutes." Lily retorted.

"No! It starts now!" Emmeline insisted.

"Have I told you how much I hated you lately?" Mary finally piped up.

"Not in…" Emmeline did a quick finger and toes calculation. "Three weeks."

"I'll tell you again then. I hate you."

"Awww… Thanks." Emmeline cooed.

In the dorm of Marauders and co, a very similar scene was going on at the very same time. In fact, one could say that it was suspiciously similar.

James, Remus, Peter, Frank, and Gerald woke up that morning to a pillow hitting them on the head. Repeatedly.

"Sirius." James growled. "Don't make me hex you."

"Ah, James! It's the first day of the rest of our lives!"

"The first day of the rest of our lives can start in five minutes." James retorted.

"No! It starts now!" Sirius insisted.

"Have I told you how much I hated you lately?" Remus finally piped up.

"Not in…" Sirius did a quick finger and toes calculation. "Three weeks."

"I'll tell you again then. I hate you."

"Awww… Thanks." Sirius cooed.

That scene finished, the bleary lot headed down to breakfast. They settled along the table much as they had the evening before and started talking. Any ill-wishes (death threats, visions of torture, assassination plots, etc..) towards the pillow-fiends quickly evaporated in the face of a new crisis.

"So then the Hag walks into the bar, and the Warlock starts bragging about his beautiful girl. His girl finally walks over, and the Hag says 'That's my sister!'" James concluded.

Lily burst into laughter. Her friends rushed over. Mary put her hand on her forehead and started taking Lily's temperature, and Emmeline started to fire question after question at Lily.

After several minutes of kerfuffle, Sirius stepped in.

"Ladies, ladies. I'm sure Evans here is just fine. Mary, Emmeline, if you would kindly step away, then we can continue to eat breakfast." Sirius offered both girls his arms, showing off his pure-blood high society manners. They both sat down on either side of him.

Breakfast took its usual course. Gerald and Marlene discussed something or other; no one really knew what. Emmeline, Mary, and Lily discussed the new Hufflepuff, Gilderoy Lockheart. ("He's going to be a walking disaster!")

Meanwhile, Frank and Remus argued about the probability of science finding a cure for cancer before magic did.

"I think we all underestimate muggles." Remus argued.

"But if magic can't cure it, what can?"

James and Sirius were busy using the salt and pepper shakers as Quiddich players. They seemed to read each other's minds, automatically moving the shakers back and forth.

Soon, McGonagall arrived with their timetables. Everyone present (except Peter) were cleared to continue their classes. They all shot off to their first period Defence class.

Sirius and Emmeline rushed into defence several minutes late, looking disheveled. Their teacher was even later, shutting the door quietly.

Most of the girls in the room sat up a little straighter. The teacher turned around and started writing on the board in elegant cursive.

"My name is Tristan Lupin, but you can all address me as Professor Lupin. I'm a Dark creature hunter." He said briskly. "Stay silent as I take attendance."

"Arden, Gerald?"

"Here."

"Black, Sirius?"

"It's just Sirius."

"Caine, Leo?"

"Here."

"Evans, Lily?"

"Present."

"Longbottom, Frank?"

"Here."

These, and many more names were said until Professor T. Lupin hit one particular name.

"Lupin, Remus?" he said, his eyes flicking around the classroom, hoping for no voice to speak up.

"Here."

"Ah. This is awkward."

**AN: Two things...**

**1. I don't have a beta. Please don't bite my head off for any poor grammar/spelling/plot/annoying OC's marlenecoughcoughmarlene/OOC characters, rushed scenes that should of been done beautifully but weren't/etc. Actually, feel free to bite my head off. I have spares.**

**2. I AM on the lookout for a beta. Know any good ones?**


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